For years I've been designing Saab builds, essentially to save some stunning cars from being broken up as parts but mostly to make the best possible version of each and every one.

With each build it's hard not to notice the exceptional folks who continue to invest their engineering skills into handcrafting special parts for our Saabs, in my eyes, these folks are Artists. The Viggen project parts store grows daily with many, many more to source but some recent deliveries really are just pieces of art, and all bespoke.

The 3" downpipe from APH Performance Almost too beautiful to hide, these all Stainless construction pipes have either a free flowing 200 cell cat or no cat at all if specified, tig welded and purged with V band joints for a perfect fit. I've commissioned five of these now and I'm sure the get better each time.

The Black Edition Grille Again, i've had a number of these commissioned and Fraser has done an exquisite job on each, he takes the best OE grilles he can find, cuts away the plastic louvers and replaces them with a perfectly fitted black metal mesh. I have mine finished in a smooth satin black finish which so far has suited each build, can't wait to see what this latest one looks like on the Lightning Blue Viggen.

The Viggen Short Shifter After a long and enjoyable conversation with Peter Raw about the Viggen Project, he suggested a part that he swears by, a bespoke short shift gear mechanism from Jam Saab. It's the first time I'll have fitted on to a build so will report on the difference it makes in a few months. Needless to say, the standard gearing is just a bit long for such quick cars, it generally feels slightly spongy and I have a feeling this will give it a more engineered, accurate feel.

Viggen Project parts list (to date) :

Tarox Sport Japan fully drilled and grooved vented discs
Tarox Sport Japan brake pads
Tarox high performance braided brake lines
Abbott Racing stainless steel subframe brace
Abbott Racing rack brace kit
Abbott Racing rear body strut brace
Bilstein B8 shocks
Eibach springs
DO88 Performance Intercooler
Nordic Performance induction kit
Momo Stealth 19" 5 spoke rims
Hankook Ventus S1 Evo tyres
TunStyle Nappa Leather steering wheel
Skyddet Aux kit
Viggen side badges by Raw Saab

The Viggen should be returning from the bodyshop soon after some required welding and paint, it’ll then land at Malcolm Miles once again for Jason and Andy to work their magic. Our aim is to build a super stylish Viggen convertible with a very capable 300+hp. The story continues…

Just a couple of weeks ago, I became the proud owner of a 2001 Gen1 9-5 Aero, more to the point, it’s the first Gen1 i’ve owned, the other 6+ have been later models. Always loved the Saabness of these, the iconic front grille, the large, clean rear lights, and an interior that always looks and smells just so Saab. After over a year of Saablessness it’s a huge welcome return.

This one’s got some great heritage, originally the demo Aero for Adrian Smith Saab, then under the careful ownership of the Chief Constable of Cumbria until being purchased again by the old Director of Adrian Smith Saab again. Carbon Grey with Rocky Black interior, it’s a timeless combo i’ve always loved, the all important manual gearbox tops the spec to perfection for me.

After driving it for 2-3 days, it went in to the amazing folks at Malcolm Miles for its inaugural thorough health check - sump drop, new oil, filters, new brake pipes, vac pipes, handbrake springs and various other refreshers, but as ever, not content with leaving things standard, we started to undertake my fast growing list of individualism:

Bilstien B8 suspension
MapTun Springs
Poly bushes
Noob Tune Stage 3

What next? An APH Performance downpipe coupled to a full BSR stainless steel system, BSR Filter, carbon fibre dash, bespoke mesh grille and set of uber rare 19” Carlsson Turbo X alloys for starters, the bodywork isn’t perfect either, so will be given a bit of tlc to get back on top of things. It’s a baby with only 93,000 miles on the clock, so worth a bit of indulgence, above all, it’s another amazing Saab Aero kept on the road for years to come, giving me new lease of Saab life and the ability to get this blog going again.

THOUGHT

Why the hell don’t more people buy older Saabs, they’re stupid value, hugely reliable, more luxury than most modern exec barges and have an unnerving ability to be tuned to embarrass most so-called sports saloons, all for sub £5k. I don’t get people, 100,000 miles is literally nothing on these things, parts are still readily available, and find a great Saab specialist like Malcolm Miles and your sorted, there’s nothing they can’t fix, do it…